The Man in the High Castle

If you haven’t seen this new show on Amazon Prime, I really recommend it. Most people already know I’m a hardcore Phillip K. Dick fan, and this was always one of my favorite books. The show itself is quite different than the book, but that’s totally okay. I’m not one of those people that gets all huffy when a movie is different than the book… just another version of a nice story! 🙂

Daily Photo – A Misty Evening in China

I love these karst mountains so much. They look good almost any time of the day, but perhaps they look best when there is a touch of fog or mist in the air. The whole place is surreal enough, but when it hits this state, the fantasy level just goes off the charts!

Texture Tutorial

Be sure to visit Trey’s Texture Tutorial to see how I make these kinds of photos. They are very fun, and anyone can do it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixmj7nbfF1

Daily Photo – The Tapestries of China

This whole area around Guilin has become one of my favorite areas to visit and explore in China. The shapes around here are epic and timeless, and they put me in quite a creative and contemplative mood!

Speaking of Birds

These birds below, the cormorants, are used to fish in an unusual way. They dive into the water to catch a fish, but they have a ring around their neck to prevent them from swallowing the big fish. The fisherman then yanks the fish out of their mouth and throw it into that basket there. Seems kinda cruel but clever, I suppose.

Daily Photo – Fishing with Cormorant Birds in China

Here in the Guilin area of southern China, you can see this sort of fishing activity. It gets a little touristy, because whenever one of these guys is about, there can be many photos taken! But I thought this guy looked like a real badass — like he could fish at the same time he was kicking your ass, which is a super duper combo!

Shooting in the Rain

It’s always great to go out and shoot in the rain, except for the me-getting-wet part! I wish I had a little friend with me all the time that would hold an umbrella over both of us… that would be so awesome. I know it’s a strange thing to want, but you gotta admit, it would be mega aweso

Daily Photo – Bamboo Rafts Coming in Before the Storm

I was crossing a bridge in a little town not too far from Yangshuo and trying to stay out of the rain. It was coming down pretty hard, but there was a sunset happening too. So, at great risk to camera and limb, I set up to take this shot. All these little bamboo rafts that would take people to and fro were coming in to hunker down for the big storm…

Fake Lightning Shots

Getting a good lightning shot often involves a bit of artifice. I’m certainly not above that! But I believe a lot of the truly amazing lightning photos you see are QUITE fake. First, a lot of compositing is often done, which is fine, just letting you know. If you see a ton of lightning bolts in a photo, chances are they are all combined with many different strikes. Also, if you don’t have one of those light-sensors to automatically trigger, you have to just keep taking photos until you get lucky. It’s like a lightning slot machine, so sometimes it doesn’t feel like that much skill is involved!

Daily Photo – Stormchasing in Guilin, China

I love this area of China and right upon arrival there was a huge storm hitting. So exciting! I love a good storm. It was probably ill-advised, but Tom and I climbed up a mountain to get some photos. We were underneath the shade of an old pagoda, which kept us from getting wet… it was perfect conditions for storm shooting, really!

Most unique breakfast

Where’s the place you’ve had the most unique breakfast? I think this little place before must be in my top 3!

Daily Photo – Breakfast on a Beautiful River

See these amazing boats down there? Tom and I came across this place totally by accident. We were quite confused.

It was a cool morning and not too humid for this part of Guilin, China, which is normally quite miserable. Tom and I walked down here and it was totally empty except for a few wild dogs. After a few moments, a nice Chinese lady came out (her nationality should go without saying) and asked us if we wanted something to eat. That's when it dawned on us these were eatin' boats! So she went in and made us a MASSIVE omelet and then set it up in the middle of the table. We were with our guides Mia and Andy, and the four of us sat around the table to eat while we were calmly poled down the river. Awesome! What a find!

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Daily Photo – Sunset in Southern China

This was one of my favorite areas to visit in China a few months ago. And, even better, we were treated with a truly remarkable sunset. Sunsets like this don't happen there much, so I felt very lucky to be in the right spot at the right time. It was certainly hard to get up to this position… many cuts, bruises, and lots of blood was spilled to get here. But I forgot about all that quickly enough.

More Great Feedback on The Arcanum!

And here are two wonderful Apprentices who made some lovely posts about their thoughts and experiences! The first is from Rose Fredriksen and the second is from Marjorie McDonald.

Daily Photo – Happy Girls in Guangxi!

One night I went out in the rain to take photos while staying in the little town of Yangshao. It was great fun! I was using my Sony A7r and my Leica 35mm f/1.4 which requires manual focus. Naturally, this means I need both hands to take photos. Luckily I had my guide Andy with me to help hold the umbrella!

In Game of Thrones

Who is your favorite character? For me, I’d have to say Tyrion… I liked him ever since I started reading the books about 10 years ago!

Daily Photo – Dragons Coming

Here's a photo from a wicked place in China.

It was a very cloudy and moody sunrise and I thought not much would happen, but then I had the idea for this. Sometimes when things don't work out, you can work extra hard to try to make some lemonade out of the lemons.

I think I also named it this because I've been watching lots of Game of Thrones!

The Lightroom Tutorial

I’m glad so many people are enjoying the Lightroom Tutorial! This photo below is one of the shots that is processed during the tutorial!

Daily Photo – The Daemon Bird

This fisherman and his bird were incredible. Whichever direction his head went, so did the bird's! It was really incredible to watch. If you have the Lightroom Tutorial I mention above, be sure to watch that part where I show all the various head positions! I've never seen anything like it in my life.

For this photo, because it was so dark, I opened up my aperture all the way to f/1.4 – that really helped the light to come in and give it this feeling.